Scottish Executive

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many welfare attorneys have been appointed under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 in each year since it came into effect.

Hugh Henry: The numbers of welfare powers of attorney registered with the Office of the Public Guardian since part 2 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 came into effect on 2 April 2001 are as follows:

  

Year
Number


2001-02
1,645


2002-03
3,976


2003-04
6,917



  These figures include powers of attorney covering welfare and financial/property matters: both may be dealt with in the one document.

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) intervention and (b) guardianship orders in respect of personal welfare have been made under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 in each year since it came into effect.

Hugh Henry: Figures provided by the Office of the Public Guardian indicate that the numbers of intervention and guardianship orders granted in respect of personal welfare since part 6 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 came into effect on 1 April 2002 are as follows:

  Intervention Orders in respect of personal welfare

  

2002-03
7


2003-04
32



  Guardianship Orders in respect of personal welfare

  

2002-03
238


2003-04
393



  These figures include orders granted where powers include both welfare and property/financial matters.

Childcare

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its national review of the early years and childcare workforce will seek, and include, input from the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Euan Robson: The Review will consult widely over the next year on a range of issues identified by the Review Steering Group. The Equal Opportunities Commission will be consulted.

Council Tax

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8934 by Mr Andy Kerr on 23 June 2004, what proportion of the assumed council tax collection rates for each local authority consists of arrears from previous years.

Mr Tavish Scott: The information requested is not held centrally.

Council Tax

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8934 by Mr Andy Kerr on 23 June 2004, what council tax collection rates were assumed by each local authority for 2002-03 and what the actual council tax collection rates were for that year.

Tavish Scott: The collection rates assumed for 2002-03 are set out in the following table. The collection rate assumption is the amount a local authority will expect to collect specifically relating to that billing year, including payment of arrears relating to that year. Total actual collection rates in respect of 2002-03 are not yet available but the table also shows the level of tax collected by the end of 2002-03 and by the end of 2003-04. The assumed rate is set with reference to data from previous years and should be a reasonably accurate reflection of the amount of council tax a local authority will eventually collect.

  

Authority
2002-03 (1)
Actual 2002-03 (2)
Actual 2002-03 (3)


 
Collection Rate Assumption
Collection Rate
Collection Rate


 
 
as at 31st March 2003
as at 31st March 2004


Aberdeen City 
97.00%
90.20%
93.10%


Aberdeenshire
98.50%
94.00%
96.50%


Angus
96.00%
94.70%
96.40%


Argyll and Bute
94.60%
93.00%
94.70%


Clackmannanshire
96.50%
90.20%
92.80%


Dumfries and Galloway
96.67%
93.30%
96.10%


Dundee City 
96.50%
85.70%
90.00%


East Ayrshire
95.00%
88.30%
91.70%


East Dunbartonshire
97.00%
93.60%
95.10%


East Lothian
96.00%
94.50%
96.10%


East Renfrewshire
97.00%
94.70%
96.80%


Edinburgh, City of 
95.00%
90.70%
92.90%


Eilean Siar
96.00%
91.10%
93.60%


Falkirk
97.50%
94.00%
96.10%


Fife
97.00%
91.90%
94.80%


Glasgow City 
93.00%
83.70%
86.90%


Highland
95.00%
92.60%
95.80%


Inverclyde
96.50%
88.00%
91.70%


Midlothian
96.50%
93.10%
94.90%


Moray
97.50%
92.70%
95.10%


North Ayrshire
95.50%
88.80%
92.70%


North Lanarkshire
96.00%
92.20%
94.20%


Orkney Islands 
97.00%
97.70%
98.50%


Perth and Kinross
97.50%
95.00%
96.40%


Renfrewshire
95.16%
93.50%
94.80%


Scottish Borders
98.00%
95.80%
96.70%


Shetland Islands
95.25%
96.60%
98.30%


South Ayrshire
97.00%
93.50%
95.60%


South Lanarkshire
96.00%
93.50%
94.70%


Stirling
97.25%
95.80%
97.40%


West Dunbartonshire
95.50%
87.00%
87.90%


West Lothian
96.00%
91.40%
94.40%


Total
95.95%
91.30%
93.70%



  Source: (1) CTAS return 2002.

  Source: (2) CTRR return 2003.

  Source: (3) CTRR return 2004.

  Notes:

  1. The assumed rate is the amount of council tax that councils expect to collect for 2002-03 in the fullness of time.

  2. The actual collection rate is the amount of council tax that councils have collected in respect of 2002-03.

Employment

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish factories produce arms for export and how many Scots are employed by these factories.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average and recommended hospital waiting times are for patients diagnosed with myasthenia gravis.

Malcolm Chisholm: The treatment of myasthenia gravis is undertaken mainly in primary care and hospital outpatient settings, and in a small number of cases inpatient and day case treatment is performed. Information on waiting times is available centrally for first outpatient appointments with a consultant, following GP referral, at specialty level only, and for inpatient and day case treatment. Provisional information for the year ended 31 March 2004, indicates that 18 patients were admitted from the waiting list for myasthenia gravis inpatient and day case treatment, and the median waiting time was 17.5 days.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of consultants and nurses qualified to diagnose and treat myasthenia gravis.

Malcolm Chisholm: The management of the diagnosis and treatment of myasthenia gravis lies with NHS boards and involves a number of different medical specialties.

  The number and skill mix of staff that will be required in the future is a matter for the individual NHS boards to decide and relates to the way in which the service will be provided within the geographical area of their responsibility.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died in Scotland over each of the last three years as a direct or indirect result of a hospital-acquired infection.

Malcolm Chisholm: The General Register Office for Scotland collates information on the cause of death, collected when a death is registered, using the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Not all infections have a specific ICD code; in addition, there is no way of distinguishing deaths involving infections acquired in hospital from those acquired in the community using ICD codes.

Information Technology

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the population has access to the internet from home, broken down by local authority area.

Tavish Scott: The following table shows the percentage of the adult population with home access to the internet broken down by local authority area. This is taken from the Scottish Household Survey and shows data for 2001-02. We expect the 2002-03 figures to be published on 5 August 2004.

  

Adult Population
%


Aberdeen City
35


Aberdeenshire
35


Angus
31


Argyll and Bute
30


Clackmannanshire
26


Dumfries and Galloway
21


Dundee City
24


East Ayrshire
25


East Dunbartonshire
43


East Lothian
35


East Renfrewshire
42


Edinburgh City
36


Eilean Siar
24


Falkirk
28


Fife
29


Glasgow City
22


Highland
34


Inverclyde
27


Midlothian
30


Moray
29


North Ayrshire
21


North Lanarkshire
25


Orkney
29


Perth and Kinross
32


Renfrewshire
28


Scottish Borders
31


Shetland
40


South Ayrshire
30


South Lanarkshire
30


Stirling
37


West Dunbartonshire
25


West Lothian
32


Scotland 
29

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the prescribing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), in light of research published by the Scottish Association for Mental Health which states that SSRI-type antidepressants were out-performed on all measures by older and cheaper tricyclic and related drugs.

Malcolm Chisholm: As with all medicines, the safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic and related anti-depressants is continuously monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Government’s independent expert advisory body the Committee on Safety of Medicines.

  The choice of treatment for a particular patient depends on the clinical judgement of the doctor concerned, in consultation with the patient and bearing in mind the risks and benefits of treatment. There are a number of reasons why the SSRIs may be the treatment of choice for some patients. For example, the side-effect profile of the SSRIs and the older tricyclic anti-depressants differ. Also, the SSRIs can be used by patients with cardiovascular disease. The recognised side-effects for both categories of drug are provided in the authorised product information and the British National Formulary www.bnf.org.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the prescribing of paroxetine, Seroxat, in light of research by the Scottish Association for Mental Health which states that Seroxat performed badly compared to other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Malcolm Chisholm: The safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including Seroxat, has been closely monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Government’s independent expert advisory committee, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM).

  The CSM has issued advice on a number of occasions about the prescription of Seroxat, most recently in March 2004. This advice forms part of an on-going in-depth review of the safety of SSRIs by the CSM’s expert working group on SSRIs. Extensive advice about the use of SSRIs is available on the MHRA website www.mhra.gov.uk.

  As with all medicines, the decision whether or not to prescribe a treatment for a particular patient depends on the clinical judgement of the doctor concerned, in consultation with the patient and bearing in mind the risks and benefits of treatment.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the use of depot drugs for psychiatric patients, given the overall negative rating for this drug group referred to in research by the Scottish Association for Mental Health.

Malcolm Chisholm: Depot medication is helpful for patients who have difficulty complying with oral treatment by simplifying the treatment process. Guidance, available from a variety of sources, emphasise that depot medication should be prescribed when appropriate. Importantly, the British National Formulary provides national guidance on the prescription of antipsychotic depot injections. This guidance can be accessed at www.bnf.org .

  As with all medicines, the decision whether or not to prescribe a treatment for a particular patient depends on the clinical judgement of the doctor concerned, in consultation with the patient and bearing in mind the risks and benefits of treatment.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the prescribing of anti-depressants, following the report by the Scottish Association for Mental Health, All you need to know? – Scottish Survey of People's Experience of Psychiatric Drugs .

Malcolm Chisholm: The regulation of medicines is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Government’s independent expert advisory body the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM).

  The safety of anti-depressants is kept under continuous review by the MHRA/CSM. In particular, the safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is currently undergoing intensive review by a working group of the CSM. Advice has been communicated to health professionals and patients as each stage of the review has been completed. The group is expected to complete its work later this year, at which time it will publish a final report.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to set up detoxification clinics for people seeking to stop taking prescribed psychiatric medication.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHSScotland has no immediate plans to set up such clinics.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that people receiving psychiatric drugs are fully aware of the potential side effects and given appropriate written information.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information for patients on how to use medicines safely and effectively is provided in the Patient Information Leaflet, which accompanies the medicine. These leaflets are authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) at the time of licensing and updated throughout the life of the product as new information on risks and benefits emerges.

  The information required to be provided to a patient about a prescription medicine when it is dispensed, and the form in which the information should be provided, is set out in Title V of Council Directive 2001/83/EC and the Medicines for Human Use (Marketing Authorisations etc) Regulations 1994. In the UK, the MHRA regulates product information and their website gives an overview of their work in this area www.mhra.gov.uk

  However, the provision of good quality patient information is intended to supplement and not replace the advice given to patients by health professionals.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it can ensure that people (a) stopping and (b) reducing their intake of psychiatric drugs are given adequate and appropriate healthcare support and advice.

Malcolm Chisholm: Many drugs acting on the central nervous system are recognised as having the potential to cause side effects in some people. The extent to which these reactions occur may differ between drugs and between individuals taking the same drug. Guidance, available to all prescribers from a variety of sources, emphasise the importance of supporting and monitoring patients who are discontinuing or reducing treatment.

  The information which must be provided to a patient about a prescription medicine when it is dispensed, and the form in which the information should be provided, is set out in Title V of Council Directive 2001/83/EC and in the Medicines for Human Use (Marketing Authorisations etc) Regulations 1994. In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is responsible for the policy and regulation of product information and the Agency’s website gives an overview of their work in this area www.mhra.gov.uk. However, the provision of good quality patient information is intended to supplement and not replace the advice given to patients by health professionals.

  In Scotland, Psychological Intervention Guidance was published in 2001 and a report by the Chief Medical Officer on psychological interventions was issued in 2003. These documents underline the importance of talking therapies in putting patients more in control of their treatment and which can help to remove or reduce a reliance on drug treatments.

NHS Expenditure

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the NHS has spent on external consultancy in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive do not hold this information, as it is not separately disclosed in the accounts of NHS bodies.

National Health Service

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why NHS Argyll and Clyde cancelled, on 17 June 2004, the planned public meeting in the Victoria Halls, Helensburgh.

Malcolm Chisholm: While this is primarily a matter for NHS Argyll and Clyde, I understand that the decision to postpone this round table workshop was made by West Dunbartonshire Council for Voluntary Services (CVS), who had agreed to handle the organisation of these workshops in the Lomond area.

  I understand that West Dunbartonshire CVS, who were keen to make sure they were adequately prepared to make this first workshop run effectively and productively, did not feel that the 17 June date gave them sufficient time to organise and prepare properly. NHS Argyll and Clyde understood and supported this approach and I understand the CVS have now set a revised date of 5 August for the round table workshop in Helensburgh.

National Health Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of cleaners to beds was in the NHS in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the ratio of cleaners to beds in the NHS is not centrally available.

National Health Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many first consultant out-patient appointments were not attended by the patient in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board, and what the cost was of these missed appointments to the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: The number of patients who did not attend their first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following referral by their GP, by NHS board area of residence, during each of the last five years is given in the table.

  Information on the cost to the NHS of patients failing to keep appointments is not available centrally. Many out-patient clinics schedule additional appointments to compensate for non-attendance. Information on the average cost of a consultant outpatient attendance is available on the Information and Statistics Division website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=1370&p_applic=CCC&p_serv.

  The Centre for Change and Innovation is overseeing a £3 million patient-focused booking initiative across NHSScotland. Pilot sites are implementing changes and their impact on DNA rates are being monitored. Early indications are that Patient-Focused Booking is resulting in substantial reductions to DNA rates and cancellations at all 30 major hospital booking sites included in the CCI Programme.

  NHSScotland: Number of Patients That Did Not Attend Their First Out-patient Appointment, by NHS Board Area of Residence, During The Years Ended 31 March 2000, 31 March 2001, 31 March 2002, 31 March 2003 And 31 March 2004P.

NHS Board Year Ended 31 March 2000 Year Ended 31 March 2001 Year Ended 31 March 2002 Year Ended 31 March 2003 Year Ended 31 March 2004P   Argyll and Clyde 14,034 13,957 14,476 14,888 14,083   Ayrshire and Arran 10,797 10,717 11,850 12,233 11,971   Borders 1,617 1,572 1,588 1,692 1,815   Dumfries and Galloway 2,211 2,302 2,383 2,247 2,163   Fife 9,800 9,970 10,072 9,855 10,148   Forth Valley 6,692 6,837 7,216 6,766 7,234   Grampian 9,255 9,882 10,323 9,812 9,355   Greater Glasgow 45,943 42,619 47,947 49,242 43,546   Highland 3,969 3,855 3,758 3,753 4,043   Lanarkshire 20,116 19,264 19,748 21,494 19,330   Lothian 22,971 23,012 22,500 21,843 21,362   Orkney Islands 128 145 159 174 167   Shetland Islands 193 224 185 254 206   Tayside 13,873 13,676 13,920 13,075 10,541   Western Isles 497 558 570 670 561   NHSSCOTLAND 162,414 158,900 166,999 168,574 156,853  

  Source: ISD Scotland, SMR00.

  Note: pProvisional.

National Health Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the mean waiting times were for first (a) out-patient appointments and (b) in-patient/day cases in (i) Scotland and (ii) each NHS board area in the last quarter for which figures are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: The mean waiting time for a first outpatient appointment with a consultant, following general medical/dental practitioner referral and for in-patient and day case treatment, by NHS Board area of residence, during the quarter ended 31 March 2004, is given in the following table.

  Reducing waiting times is one of the Executive’s key priorities for NHSScotland. By 2005, no patient will wait more than 6 months for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following referral by their general medical/dental practitioner, and the current nine month national maximum waiting time for inpatient and day case treatment will be reduced to six months.

  NHSScotland: Mean Waiting Time for In-patient and Day Case Treatment and for a First Out-patient Appointment with a Consultant, following referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, During the Quarter Ended 31 March 2004P.

  Mean Waiting Time (days)   NHS Board In-patient and Day Case Treatment First Out-patient Appointments   Argyll and Clyde 73 83   Ayrshire and Arran 86 74   Borders 75 67   Dumfries and Galloway 80 69   Fife 95 90   Forth Valley 89 100   Grampian 77 92   Greater Glasgow 72 89   Highland 84 76   Lanarkshire 83 94   Lothian 88 78   Orkney Islands 50 49   Shetland Islands 62 98   Tayside 82 88   Western Isles 74 47   NHSScotland 81 85  

  Source: ISD Scotland, SMR00 and SMR01.

  Note: PProvisional.

National Health Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the mean average time was between first appointment and satisfactory completion of treatment in (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board area in the last quarter for which figures are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: Treatment in hospital can take place in either an out-patient or in-patient setting. Information is not held centrally on waiting times for completion of treatment or for treatment which starts in an out-patient setting.

  Information is available centrally for the waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant following referral by a general medical/dental practitioner and on the time between a patient being placed on the inpatient and day case waiting list for treatment and their admission to hospital. The mean waiting time for a first out-patient consultation and for inpatient and day case treatment for the quarter ended 31 March 2004, has been provided in my answer to parliamentary question S2W-9487 given on 27 July 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search

National Health Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15118 by Susan Deacon on 8 May 2001, what the average per capita level of funding was for each NHS board in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Details are as follows:

  

Health Board
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


 
Per Capita
Per
Capita
Per
Capita


 
£
£
£


Argyll and Clyde
1,080
1,139
1,222


Ayrshire and Arran
1,050
1,125
1,215


Borders
1,042
1,096
1,174


Dumfries and Galloway
1,100
1,176
1,258


Fife
956
1,009
1,088


Forth Valley
990
1,055
1,118


Grampian
956
1,030
1,102


Greater Glasgow
1,192
1,291
1,358


Highland
1,106
1,186
1,276


Lanarkshire
1,002
1,038
1,128


Lothian
991
995
1,136


Orkney
1,275
1,338
1,400


Shetland
1,286
1,412
1,523


Tayside
1,181
1,223
1,283


Western Isles
1,659
1,775
1,926



  Notes:

  1. The levels of per capita funding for 2001-02 and 2002-03 have been calculated using the final cash limited/unified budgets, the actual expenditure for demand led Family Health Services for those years and the mid year estimates of population at 30 June 2001 and 2002 respectively.

  2. The levels of per capita funding for 2003-04 have been calculated using the final cash limited/unified budgets, the indicative allocations for demand led family health services and the mid year estimates of population at 30 June 2003.

National Health Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was aware of plans by NHS Highland to sell Raigmore Hospital’s new magnetic resonance imaging scanner to a private company and then lease it back prior to the allocation of extra funding for NHS boards in June 2004; whether NHS Highland notified the Executive of such a sale and, if so, when and whether there was a tendering exercise carried out prior to the sale.

Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish Executive Health Department was aware of NHS Highland’s plans and we can confirm that a full and formal tendering process to identify best value was conducted, prior to option appraisals being presented to the NHS Highland Board.

Public Bodies

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the arrangements whereby the Culture Commission can be contacted and when its contact details will be published.

Mr Frank McAveety: Yes. The Cultural Commission is in the process of establishing an office at Broughton High School and developing its website. The Cultural Commission can be contacted at Broughton High School, Carrington Road, Edinburgh, EH4 1EG. Further information can be obtained from its website at www.culturalcommission.org.uk .

Public Bodies

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Culture Commission has been asked by the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport to take evidence from individuals and organisations and, if so, in what way this will be done.

Mr Frank McAveety: Yes. The Commission will involve people across the country in carrying out the detailed tasks of reviewing the cultural sector, examining research, canvassing opinion and exploring options as outlined in its remit.

Public Sector

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be applied in any decision on relocating public sector jobs to Moray and the Highlands and Islands.

Tavish Scott: Relocation decisions are based on a range of factors. These include socio-economic factors such as unemployment, and other indicators of deprivation, the operational effectiveness of the organisation concerned, the level of investment required and the position of staff concerned.

  Each decision is made on a case by case basis, with the particular circumstances of the body concerned and its fit with relocation objectives being considered.

  Moray and the Highlands and Islands, along with all parts of Scotland, will continue to be considered as each relocation opportunity arises.

Public Sector

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it makes available to local authorities who make bids for civil service jobs to be relocated to their areas.

Tavish Scott: Each year the Scottish Executive writes to the Chief Executive Officers of all local authorities and local enterprise companies to inform them of any new bodies which have been brought into the relocation programme and to request information on available property in their area suitable for these organisations. A brief description of each organisation is included along with details of its size and space requirement and an indication of when relocation decisions are due.

  A copy of the guidance which sets out the considerations which are taken into account in relocation reviews is also included in the letter.

  Relocation officials regularly meet with representatives from local authorities and local enterprise companies to assist with relocation issues.

Residential Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8628 by Mr Tom McCabe on 25 June 2004, what advice it has received on the legality of two people paying different amounts for the same service.

Mr Tom McCabe: The amount which those whose accommodation is provided or arranged by a local authority contribute depends on a financial assessment of their resources. They will not pay for the part of the service which the authority is prevented from charging for under free personal care legislation. The cost of providing the service will depend on the rate agreed between the local authority and the care home provider.

  The amount which those who arrange their own accommodation pay will depend on whether they are eligible to receive free personal care from the local authority. Most "self funders" benefit from personal and/or nursing care payments. The amount they pay for their accommodation and living costs depends on the rate set by the care home provider, normally a private matter between the parties.

  Those whose accommodation is provided or arranged by the local authority, but who ask the local authority to provide more expensive accommodation, will require to pay top-up fees. The amount of the top-up fee will depend on the rate for the service set by the care home provider. Again, that rate is normally a private matter between the parties.

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the role of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE) will be, given the proposed creation of a national transport agency and regional transport partnerships and what powers TIE will retain and what powers will be ceded.

Nicol Stephen: Transport Initiatives Edinburgh is a company established by the City of Edinburgh Council to take forward their Integrated Transport Initiative. As such it already works in partnership with a number of bodies in the public and private sector. It will be for the Council and the company in the first instance to determine how these relationships should be developed in the future.

Wildlife

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce legislation to repeal the provisions of section 14 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 that exempt the Deer Commission for Scotland from laws governing the culling of deer.

Ross Finnie: I have no plans to repeal Section 14.

Wildlife

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will recommend that representatives of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association experienced in deer management should be appointed to the Deer Commission for Scotland.

Ross Finnie: We will shortly be advertising for new members for the Deer Commission for Scotland. Appointments will be made on merit and in compliance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice. Members of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association will of course be free to apply.

Wildlife

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has introduced a moratorium on the use of helicopters in deer culling and, if so, whether that moratorium will be made permanent.

Ross Finnie: In my letter of 9 June to the Deer Commission for Scotland, I specifically asked the organisation to clarify how the Code of Practice guidance on the use of vehicles for driving deer should apply to helicopters.

  In his initial response to my letter, the Chairman of the DCS has indicated that a best practice guide on the use of helicopters in deer management will be prepared and that, whilst DCS will continue to use helicopters in a logistical and support role in culling and for deer counting, it will in the meantime observe a voluntary moratorium on using helicopters to drive deer.